London Buses Route 47
London Buses Route 47 '''is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Catford Bus Garage and Shoreditch, it is operated by Stagecoach London. '''History Route 47 is a very old route and has been linking Catford Garage with the city before the First World War. However, it used to push on beyond Catford Garage to Bromley and Farnborough via what is now the 208 and 358, and taking around 90 minutes. The frequency from Shoreditch to Bromley was every 6 minutes, exactly matching the 208, but bettering the current 10 minute service on the 47. Alternate buses continued to Farnborough and for many years before and immediately after the Second World War buses continued at summer weekends on Knockholt Pound. These provided a cheap way for those living in the poorer areas of inner London to reach the country side. The extension of the route to Farnborough arose as a direct result of the movement of patients from Guy's Hospital to Farnborough Hospital after the commencement of World War Two. The 47 bus was seen as an essential and convenient way of enabling patients, relatives and staff to travel between the two sites. There have been a few minor changes in between. Apart from the introduction of one-way systems at Shoreditch and Catford and the subsequent introduction of a contraflow bus lane at Catford and abandonment of the Shoreditch one — there has been a diversion in the Surrey Quays area, first to serve the new shopping centre, and later to serve a new station at Canada Water nearby when the Jubilee Line opened. But the most significant one is the diversion of buses away from Deptford High Street to Deptford Church Street. The latter is now the main route through Deptford, having been upgraded to dual carriageway, but the former is where all the shops are. It is also where the market is, which is where the problem lay. As mentioned, the route used to originate from Farnborough. Introduction of route 199 in 1958 saw the 47 cut back to Bromley Garage on Mondays to Saturdays, but the status quo was restored in 1964. The 4 September 1982 scheme saw trunk routes in the Bromley area revised, with route 94 withdrawn in favour of new routes 208 and 261. The latter also replaced the 47 between Bromley Common and Farnborough (and the 229 between Farnborough and Orpington). The 47 was further curtailed to the rather silly terminus of Downham in 27 April 1985, which was a device to allow the southern part of the route, now numbered 47A and running from Bromley Common to Surrey Docks (now known as Surrey Quays), to lose its conductors, having already lost its Routemasters the previous year. The 47A interestingly had a Sunday extension to Aldgate via Tower Bridge, to serve market traffic. However, the 47A lasted just five months on Mondays to Saturdays, being replaced by a re-incarnated 199, which ran via Greenwich and continued to Trafalgar Square via route 1. The rather useless section of the 47 between Downham and Bellingham,Catford Bus Garage was withdrawn without a replacement in November 1988. On 29 June 1995, ECW bodied Leyland Olympians were introduced. On 20 December 1999, the ECW bodied Leyland Olympians were withdrawn. On 18 September 1999, the route was rerouted via Canada Water Bus Station. In September 2001, Northern Counties Palatine I bodied Volvo Olympians were introduced. On 5 October 2001, the route was converted to low floor operation using brand new Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Tridents. On 21 June 2006, the route was retained by Stagecoach London. On 17 January 2015, the route was temporarily withdrawn between Bishopsgate and Shoreditch and diverted to Liverpool Street Bus Station via Wormwood Street, Old Broad Street and Sun Street Passage. On 12 September 2015, the route was converted to a 24 hour service. The route was restored to Shoreditch at the same date and route N47 was renumbered N199 and rerouted to serve Greenwich instead of Deptford Bridge. On 12 September 2017 the route was retained by Stagecoach London with brand new Enviro 400 MMC bodied Volvo B5LHs introduced. On 23 January 2016, the route was converted to a full brand new Enviro 400 MMC bodied Volvo B5LHs. On 7 May 2016, the daytime service was temporarily withdrawn between Liverpool Street Station and Shoreditch due to major development at Shoreditch. On 30 September 2017, the route was restored to Shoreditch. Current Route * Bellingham Catford Bus Garage * Catford Lewisham Town Hall * The Catford Centre (for Catford & Catford Bridge Stations) * Lewisham Hospital * Lewisham Park * Lewisham Fire Station * Lewisham Town Centre * Lewisham Clock Tower * Lewisham Station * Lewisham Loampit Vale * Elverson Road * Deptford Bridge * Deptford Wavelengths * Deptford High Street * Deptford Fire Station * Deptford Park School * Surrey Quays Station * Surrey Quays Shopping Centre * Surrey Quay's Leisure Park * Canada Water Bus Station * Southwark Park * Bermondsey Station * Dockhead * City Hall * London Bridge Tooley Street * London Bridge Station (Alight for Guy's Hospital and Southwark Cathedral) '' * London Bridge * Monument Station * Liverpool Street ''Bus Station *Shoreditch Town Hall *Shoreditch Primrose Street (Alight for Shoreditch High Street Station) *Shoreditch 'External links' *London Bus Routes Gallery *Full Timetable (PDF) 'Gallery' 047, London Buses routes